Method of making excavations.



4 SHEETS-SHEET l.'

5 wom/Ion I. F. OROURKE.

METHOD OF MAKING EXCAVATIONS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I5. 1915.

:.'1 II Hl |:r I l ll 1;: 51s I'l I. f. o'RouIIKE.

METHOD 0F MAKING EXCAVATIONS. APPLICATION FILED Dems, 1915.

@Mo/anexa Y) J F. OBOUBKE.

METHGD 0F MAKING ,EXCAVATIONS.

APPLICATION msu ngc. 1s. 1915.

` Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

I. F. OROURKE. METHOD 0F MAKING `EXCAVATIONS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.'I5, 1915.

Patented Apr. 18,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

. earth, and as the earth between such sheet New York city,l 4the 'county of New ED i S Jenn r. @aon-'aka or New wenn, n. Y,

vnrirrnon vor" MAKING Efli'cavarroNs.`

. .specification of Letters rarest- .pasen-end 'Aml1g, .wie

Application led ecem'ber 1'5, '1915. Serial 66,889.

piling was excavated to apply against the piling timbers, called'- rangers, spaced apart and4 braced yby intervening beams or braces; .then todrive such sheet again excavate the,

piling farther down, y

l 'earth between the piling, then apply more the lengthof the several stages of and the diferent kind of earths. operations the width of the proposed exca- -orA to fill spaces outside the rangers and braces tothe piling, and so on.

After the excavation has been made to about rthe depth equal to the length of the sheet piling driven down ,as aforesaid, if it be intended to carry the excavation down farther more sheet piling is'again driven, butwithin the rangers of the lfirst level of sheet piling, and excavation bracing downwardlyas are required, and in accordance with the depth of the excavation and sheet. piling which varies according to circumstances By v.such

vation is fixed by the width between the lowermost stage` orlevel of sheet piling, but more earth has to beexcavated' above the' lowermost stage of operations than required for producing the width at the bottom of the proposed excavation, because ofthe requirement tol drive the 'subsequent stages of those previously drlven,

sheet pilingwithin portions of the excavawhereby theupper tion are'necessarily much broader lthan the By the use ci.

fnel excavation requires'. auch vertically disposedl sheet piling .it is not practical to inspect the earth behind the piling, or fallen in, 'as the work proceeds downwardly, sheet piling to hold back surrounding' ground, except'from the top, .and 'titeA danger, 'noise and cost init `has been the drive sheet piling into' properly trenches are to form the outside work, and braceor shore from side/,to side the walls of vsaid trenches as 'porarily between the trenches.

between such piling and ofthe trenches maylbe thereof is continued as before described, and so on in ,as many levels or stages ,opposed trenches to ill \in where earth may have tically disposed Y Jvolved in driving sheetpiling is `so great 'asoften to create a dangerous nuisance. Itis not unusual, also, for the sheetpiling to kick, .out at `the bottom of the drive, leaving the. inclosed excavation too small so that the exca'v'ation may have tov be refilled, the sheet-r f ingpulled out, andthe work begun over again. v

. Thel objectl of my invention is to facilithe construction of. excavations in the ground intended` for" subways, cellars,i -oundations i le5 tate and render more .safe and economical t and -analogous purposes ,.andto enablelsuch excavations to be made from top tobottom or required excavatiom thereby ,also enabling inspection of the surrounding ground and the 'filling in behind'thegslieeting to restore ground that `maybe lost in the vplacing of the sheeting, or through subsequent runs .at substantlally the width of the proposed I of the ground behind the same, las required as the Work proceeds.' r i Y In carrying out la feature of my invention,

I dig spaced-*relatively narrow trenches'to walls of which a suitable depth, fthe outside walls of the the digging proceeds, leavinglunelxcavated ground temsheeted with'- planks laid horizontally, the planks being preferably suitably spaced apart to permit of tamping .solidly -behind them,.through the 'spaces 'between the planks, suitable material to hold back the ground, temporary braces i-n jeach' trench being placed between opposing planks or between vertical timbers-spanning several planks. After such have been dug to a desired depth and braced inside themselves,vv as The Walls so'A stated, vertically disposed timbers are placed l against'the outer walls othe trenches between the previous bracing of san1e,\and said timbers -are in turn braced and wedged against the inner walls of the `trenches so that the irst placed bracing of the trenches may'be removed in whole or in part as may be desired. When the trenches 'on opposite sides have been thus fitted with vertical .v

rangers or timbersy (corresponding to the horizontal rangers commonly used when versheet piling is employed) that is to say, when the timbers crossing vthe planking'are in place, the excavation is made secure by the braces against the vertical timbers, being held securely by theV ,l inner walls 'of' 'the trenches, which are held in turn by the unexcavated material between the opposite trenches. The next operation is the: removal of the material between the trenches. Y versely'disposed timbers, of suiiicient length and strength, between the vertical rangers on opposite or Outer sides of the excavation as` the latter is carried downward, the weight ofthe material on' the outside being taken up on such cross timbers by means of wedges or screw jacks, as desired, which thus A relievev the pressure on the cross braces in the trenches, and thela-tter can b e taken out as fast as the excavation proceeds without 'allowing an inward movement of the outerb walls of the excavation. Ars-it would not be always practicable ,to excavate the middle 'grounddown to the bottom of the trenches ,before putting in the permanent crossy brace at that level, it is'expected that temporary ,cross braces will be used from time to time -to hold they vertical timbers until the permanent' ones lower down are placed and wed-ged. While theI middle'excavation can y be done in the labove' manner to the bottom of the trenches, itwould also be practicable.

as well as desirable, in the case of deeper excavations, to1 continue sinking the lside trenches, simultaneously with the middle ex- `cavation and keeping the side trenches ahead .of-.thev middle excavation, with additional vertical rangers also placed in advance so 'that they might be joined to those above in.'

convenient lengths and the horizontal permanent braces placed to catch the bottom vof .one timber andthe top of aiiother.I` 0r, if desired, a timber bolster can be placed at the- ,40'

joint between rangers Ato distribute more securely the'thrust of thecross timber on the ranger above andbelow.

. In the manner described an excavation in earthean be safely carried down in dry ground to vany desired depth witha maximum ofsafety and a Vminimum of costand -which also permits of keeping the sides of the excavation in corresponding vertical planes from top to bottom. v

Where the excavation is tchave different levels, both trenches and the intermediate graund may be carried downto the depth of one vproposed level of' the excavation, and then froni'the bottom of such level one of.

lsuch trenches ,may be carried down to the.

lower desired level, together with another trench spaced therefrom, with the outer walls i of said trenches spaced approximately the width-of a lower level of the excavation,`

both trenches being continued down and the intermediate lground excavated to such lower level, the shoring and braces being carried out, in the manner before described.

l It' will be understood that as the excava- 'tion proceeds downwardly, any supports,

Fory this purpose'lplace transinverso My invention further comprises novel de.-

tails of improvement that will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims. v 1

Reference is to be had to theaocoinpanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein,

Figure l is a cross sectional viewillustrating steps in carrying out my improvement;

a.l5`ig 2;. 2 is va. detail hereinafter referred to;

F ig. 3 is a plan view; Figfd is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the excavation. Fig. 5 is a cross section of an ex-' cavation substantially completed in accordance with my improvements, Fig. 6 is 'an en,- larged cross section substantially on the line 6, 6, in Fig. 3; Fig. 'i' is a plan view illustrating my improvementsutilized in digging a cellar; Fig. 8 is a sectional view thereof, showing early stages ofthe work, and Fig. 9 is a similar view showing further stages of the work. y I

ln accordance withmy improvements, at

suitable width and narrower than the .proposed excavation, to a suitable depth, and

spaced apart in such a manner that the outer walls 3, 4, of suoli trenches .maj/be spaced approximately the distance ofthe widthv of the proposed excavation, leaving between the.

trenches temporarily vunexca'vatedv ground at 5.v As said trenches are 'dugftheircwalls or sides are braced vor,shc'red, preferably. with longitudinally' extending. planks or ciibbing 6, 7, .the planks or cribbing 6 being shown applied alo-ng the outer walls or sides 3, 4t,v of the trenches, and thel planks orv @ribbing 7 applied along the inner' walls, o'r sides 3a, sa of the corresponding trench, temporary braces 8 lbeing placed between op' posed planks 6, 7, .in the respective trenches. Such4 temporary braces 8 are preferably placed against vertically' disposed boards or the-like 9 that are laid against the planks or shoring 6, 7.. After the trenches have proceeded at'o a suitable depth, vertically disposed rangers or timbersl lOAare placed against the outer walls of thev trenches, in position between previous bracing 8, 9, of the trench walls, and said rangersor braces and the like may be spaced apart and i oc theplace where an excavation iii the ground is to be made, l dig twov trenches l, 2 of timbers 10 are themselves braced` and` wedged against the inner walls of the corresponding -trenches, by means of suitable braces 8a extending between the rangers or timbers 10 and vertically disposed boards or the like 9 ct that are placed against the planks 7 (Figs. 2 and 3) whereby the first named bracing 8, 9, may be removed in whole or in part as may be desired. The vertical rangers or timbers 10 will thereupon temporarily remain braced against the inner walls 3a, 4a of the trenches, the planks 7 then remaining in place by reason of the unexcavated material between the trenches. After the upper rangers or timbers 10 have been placed as stated a suitable amount of the intermediate ground 5 is lirst excavated to ,admit cross braces or timbers 11 of sulficient length and strength to be inserted `be tween the upper parts of opposing rangers or timbers 10, and the work of continuing the excavation at 5 proceeds until space for another cross timber 11 is made. When such brace is placed and wedged the side trenches are continued with the same operations o bracing, etc., corresponding planks 7 being removed as the excavation at 5 proceeds.l `When the trenches have been dug downwardly suiliciently to admit additional vertical rangers or timbers 10 the latter are placed beneath, or they may be joined to,

the irst set of rangers or timbsers 10 above, in convenient lengths, and against the outer walls 3, 4, and the horizontal braces or beams llmay be placed to oppose the bottom of one ranger or timber 10 and the top of another, or if desired a timber bolster A may be placed at the joint between said rangers or timbers 1() to distribute more securely the thrust of the cross braces 11 on the rangers or timbers 10'above and below, as indicated in Fig. 5.. The lower portions of the rangers or timbers 10 set in place as last referred to, may be temporarily braced against the inner walls 3a, 4 by the braces 8?, 9a as before described, the excavation 5 being continued a suitable depth, and, wheredesired, temporary braces 11a and wedges or screw jacks 13 may be inserted between opposing rangers or timbers 10, until the excavation has proceeded downwardly sufticiently to admit the more permanent braces 1? between opposing rangers or timbers 10, as illustrated in Fig. 1 l It thus will be understood that as the work proceeds, the opposing walls of the trenches are not only first and temporarily braced by the bracing means 3, 9, but are secondarily braced by the bracing 10, 8a, 9a, and then by the more permanent bracing 10, 11, whereby the weight of the material on the outside of the excavation "abovethe trenches is taken up by the cross timbers 11, which may remain permanently in position while the work is being carried on. lVedges, indicated at 12 may cat/ed by the dotted lines at the be driven between the parts 10,' 11 to make that the outer planks 6, opposing the timbers 10, remain in place as the work proceeds, although the planks 7 are removed successively. by stage untilthe trenches have reached the desired low level, and the completed excavation of the desired width and to the desired depth has'been accomplished, as, for instance, to the level indicated at 14 -in Fig; 1.' In the trenches partitions between the planks or shoring 6, as indicated at.15, Figs. 4 and 6.

During the progress of the work, and after the intermediate ground at 5 has been excavated, any suitable structural work, such as cross and longitudinal braces, beams and the like, indicated generally at 16, may be erected in the excavation, the work proceeding from above downwardly, as indicated in"Figs. ,4 and 5, whereby overhead installations may be made, such as roadways for the support of rails, roadbed, and the like indicated at 17, 18` (Fig. 5), to enable the work of excavation to be carried out be'- neath a roadbed without undue interfering with traffic thereon.

1f it be desired to construct the bed or bottom. of the excavation on more than one level, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5, the excavation may 'be carried down to its full width to one of such levels, as at 1-1, and one of the trenches used for such purpose, as indicated at the lefthand side in Fig. 1, may be continued down to the -low level as at 14a. The other trench maybe started at the level 14: and at a desired 'distance from the first named trench (as indiright in and continued downwardly with the latter trench, or spaced trenches otherwise located may be continued down, the walls or sides of the trenches being braced, and intermediate ground at 5afexcavated as such trenches proceed downwardly, in manner before explained, the vertical rangers or timbers 10 and the transverse braces 11 being installed between the side walls of the narrower portion of the excavation, to the lower level 14, as stated and as illustrated in Fig. 5.

By preference, will be so set as rig. i),

the planks or shoring to present spaces therebetween, indicated at a, which may be accomplished by placing blocks b upon the edges of adjacent .planks so that the latter .will be spaced apart, whereby the ground may be inspected through the spaces a, and earth may be filled in behind the planks in spaces where the earth may fall away, although any other suitable or desired sheeting or shoring may be used. It will be understood that as the. trenches proceed downwardly, the 'planks 6, 7, will be placed in The work may proceed stage .firm bracing thereof. It will be observedAV 7 may be installed v,

position from beneath those previously s et, and that the braces 8. in conjunction With the vertical boards 9, retain suchplankstemporarily vin position until the permanent vertical rangers or timbers 10 have been placed in position and braced by the transverse beams 11. 1

By means of my. improvements above described, it will be'understood that the lextreme width of the proposed excavation can be determined by the distance between the outer Walls or sides 3, 4, of thev spaced trenches 1, 2, and that such Walls or sides may be dug straight down, the advanci'ng of the trenches ahead of the digging of the intermediate ground 5 permitting secure bracing .or ,shoring of the Walls of the trenches and excavation in a continuous manner, enabling most secure bracing together of the outer walls 3, 4 of the excavation to be effected, stage by stage or step by step, and that the outer vwalls of the trenches are securely temporarily braced against the intermediate ground 5, and permanently braced by the vertical beams 10 and transverse beams 11 before the main portionv at 5 or 55L is excavated. Also, that as the latter portion of the excavation is removed, it will have no injurious effect against the outer Walls of the excavation because of the completel bracing of the latter before removal of the intermediateground. By this 'means I am enabled to make an excavation having approximately the same Width at all points, where such is required, without being obliged to lremove ground Wider at some stages than is desiredA for the Width of the completed or proposed excavation. Hence, a saving is effected lnot'only in theamount of material removed, but also in the amount of material required to be replaced Where,

braced, as for instance as illustrated in Figs.

7,- 8 and 9. In the last name figures the excavation may be considered to be fora cellar and a trench l may be dug at'one or more of' the proposed walls of the cellar and 'shored by the planks G. 7, which may be temporarily braced together by the braces 8 in the manner before described. When the trench is thus dug, shored and braced the vertical rangers 10 may be placed in position and braced' against the wall 3a by thebraces 3fL bearmg against the uprights 9*il laid again t the planks por; shoring 7, as in Fig. 8. Asuitable am tgfof the ,ground at 5b may/ then be du-g,l='l y in an inclined manner, or an inclined ditch may be dug, whereby braces or timbers 11 may be set at an inclination, their upper ends being applied againstv the upper portion of the corresponding vertical rangers 10, and held against the same as by cleats 20, nailed orotherwise secured to the rangers 10, the,

lower endsof said braces 11 being placed against suitable abutments 21'laid at the bottom of the excavation, a corresponding` Fig. 9; The same operations may be carriedoutfor any suitable depth to which the excavation is to be carried, braces 1l being applied as required at lower stages as the Work of excavation proceeds. In this manner excavatlons for cellars, foundations and the After such like may be conveniently made and the outer walls shored and braced, this feature of my invention' being particularly applicable where the excavation is of a width not to conveniently permit insertion of transverse braces 11 'between opposing Walls of' the excavation as illustrated in Fig.' 1, or in cases where the character of shoring and bracing illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 may be found preferable or more desirable.

In the manner described Ithe expensive, troubles'tnnerand often dangerous method of driving vertical sheet piling is avoided.

Having now described my invention What 1 claim is l'1.'The method of-producing an excavation consisting in making a trench, lining opposing walls. thereof with sheeting, bracing opposing sheeting together in the trench, bracing the proposed outer wall of thevexcavation independently of the inner wall of the trench, and excavating' the ground adjacent lto the inner wall of the trench leaving the outer wall as a wall of the excavation.

,h 2. Thegnethod of producing an excavation consisting in making a trench, lining opposing Walls thereof with sheeting, bracing opposing sheeting together in the trench, placing vertical rangers against-the sheeting along the proposed outer wall ofthe excavation, temporarily bracing said rangers against the oppositewall of the trench, and

substituting other braces from without the trench against the' \ertical rangers as the general excavation preceeds.

3. The method of producing an excavation consisting in making spaced trenches', bracing the wnlls,of 'said trenches, excavat- `Iing ground between trenches to produce the desired widthjof excavation, and bracing thel walls of said excavation. 4. The method of producing anv excavation consisting in making spaced trenches, the outer walls ofsuch trenches bracing against the inner walls thereof, excavating material between saidtrenches for the'v desired excavation, and bracing', the outer walls ot' said excavation together.

5. The method ofproducing an ei'zcav'a-4 'tion consisting in" makin .spaced trenches placing shoi-ing" t' along e walls of sai trenches, bracing the Ashoring in each trench by placingv braces between such shorin to hold back the groundl at the sides-of an 'between the trenches, Vexcavating ground between the trenches above the bottom of the latter, and bracing the outer shoring of said trenches above and within the trenches by inserting beams between said shoring.

6. The method of producing an excavation consisting in rst. making spaced trenchesto a suitable depth, shoring the inner and outer walls of said trenches, re-

`moving ground between said trenches together with the corresponding shoringat inner walls of the trenches .opposing such removed ground, and bracing against each other the shoring of the outer walls of the trenches after such ground between the trenches has been removed.

7. The method of producing an excavation consisting in making spaced trenches,

@topics of this patent may be obtained foi trenches, bracing placing` shoring aloii the walls of said trenches, bracing toget er the opposing shoring of Veach trench, placingupwardly disposed rangers against the. shoring at the outer walls formed by the trenches extending'int'o' the trenches below the level of the gr und betweenv the trenches, and removing ou'ndv and the shoring at the the lower intermediate inner walls o the trenches above ends of said rangers..

8. The method of producing an excavali tionlconsisting in making spaced trenchesi placing shoring along the walls of sai together the opposing shoringof each trench,'placing upwardly disposed rangers against the shoring at the outer walls formed by the trenches, bracing opposing rangers together above the ground intermediate the trenches, bracing the lower portions of said rangers against such inter- T. F. BOURNE, MARIE F. W AINWRIGHT.

of said ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patente,

Washington, D. C.

at the inner walls ofy 

